Memorial Day is a non-fiction picture book written to explain to children how the holiday came about and why we celebrate it, among other things. Although this is your typical thirty-two page picture book, its aim is for children who might be outgrowing picture books but who need to be eased into chapter books. Each chapter is about two to four pages long (including the full page illustrations).

There is a chapter on the Civil War, a chapter that includes information on The Tomb of the Unknowns, a chapter full of Memorial Day poems, and another full of Memorial Day songs.

This picture book shows how one can never be too old for them. I learned something new while reading it. There is a chapter on Decoration Day and I had never heard of it before. It was the early version of Memorial Day and it was celebrated every May 30. It did not become known as Memorial Day until the 1890s and it became a national holiday in 1971. Anyway, it was known as Decoration Day because it was the day people decorated the headstones with flowers. I am not sure if it is official, but my community still has a sort of Decoration Day. Every year on the Friday before Memorial Day, boy scouts and girl scouts place small American flags next to every headstone in the national cemetery behind my house (yup, backyard, then alley, then a stretch of grass, then the cemetery…I have a post here).

I enjoyed reading Memorial Day and I think other children and adults will as well. With its semi-realistic illustrations and small chapters to get young readers used to them, Memorial Day is a very informative and good knowledge base for everyone on this holiday. It even suggests various Memorial Day activities and includes a glossary and index.

Baby Owl claims he is not sleepy as he fights to keep his eyes open. The other animals stay awake all day and he wants to as well. In between arguing, he begins to doze.

I’m Not Sleepy! is a very short picture book but it is part of a popular series by Jon Allen. There is not much to say about this cute little owl book, but the pictures speak for themselves.

Recommended for children ages two to four.

It has always been inevitable. The seasons change: summer into autumn, autumn into winter, winter into…

Winter into more winter, if Lady Winter has anything to do with it. She does not want Sister Spring to awaken because it would mean her beautiful white snow and ice crystals would melt and the silence that a fresh snow brings would be halted for months. No, better to leave things as they are now, to Lady Winter’s liking. And to do that, she must make sure that Sister Spring continues to slumber.

How Robin Saved Spring is about the changing of the seasons and how Lady Winter wants to stop the change. Lady Winter is close to getting her way but the animals start to understand what is happening and they try to wake and warn Sister Spring. The biggest and smallest creatures do not succeed but maybe Robin will be the one to make a difference.

It is full of whimsical illustrations. Beautiful illustrations.

How Robin Saved Spring is a very cute book about saving spring and how various animals and insects came to hibernate and/or bed down for the winter.

Recommended for older children because it is wordier than other picture books. I would say five to ten years of age.

A Book of Sleep follows an owl as it wanders through the night to observe all of the various sleeping animals. But when everyone wakes up, the owl goes to sleep!

A Book of Sleep has colorful illustrations with recognizable shapes for the animals, but without their usual colors. It is a great book to coax a child into bed and to sleep.

Recommended for children two- to six-years-old.

Eight-year-old Kerry and her fifteen-year-old sister Margaret travel to their Aunt Jane’s house by the beach for the Easter holiday. Kerry, upset that their parents could not take the girls to the beach themselves, lingers at the beach where she meets her cousin Jack coming in on his new boat. He takes her out to a small island and seeing a sand dollar, he picks it up and tells her about how the various markings of a sand dollar tell the story of Easter.

The Legend of the Sand Dollar has very realistic drawings. It is called an inspirational story which is why I picked it up. I know sometimes “inspirational” means a message of hope and sometimes it takes it to the religious level, and in this case, it does just that. I was not expecting it but I found the book interesting because I never knew that sand dollars were thought of in this way. The Legend of the Sand Dollar is a good Easter read for your little ones.

Recommended for children ages five- to ten-years-old whose parents are looking for an inspirational and lightly religious read for the Easter holiday.

In the beginning of March, the lion wreaks havoc in the form of harsh winds and deceptively spring-like days with bitter, frosty nights but by the end of March, the weather is lamb-like with the days growing longer and the flowers and trees in bloom.

In Like a Lion, Out Like a Lamb is a very cute book that provides a fitting story to the famous phrase used for the title. The illustrations seem at once solid and wispy, like the wind could whisk them away like dandelion seeds.

Recommended for children five- to eight-years old who are curious about that March phrase and the changing of the seasons.

The Little White Owl is about a young, nameless, orphaned owl whose head is full of happy, imaginative stories.

The little owl goes on an adventure and ends up finding a tree full of brightly colored owls who do not want anything to do with the little white owl because he is so plain in their eyes. Yet, this did not phase the little white owl and he convinces the colorful owls to listen to one of his stories.

The Little White Owl is a story about making friends. The colors in this book are just dazzling. I could stare at these owls for hours. It is very nicely done.

Recommended for children ages two to six.

Four owl eggs lay within a willow tree and three of them hatch quickly to reveal three owlets. They wait for the fourth egg to hatch and when it does, they see that their fourth sibling is much smaller than them.

The other three owlets do not seem to pay much attention to the smallest owl. They step on him like he is not there, but he is positive about it all, even as the first three grow faster and learn to fly sooner.

I loved how the owls were somewhat realistic looking with a bit of creative license. The illustrations were pleasing to look at and fit the story well.

The Littlest Owl shows how the youngest sibling or the smallest kid or the one who is most different can feel left out things, but it also displays positiveness and perseverance. 

Recommended for children from three- to eight-years-old.

It is the Leprechaun family’s favorite time of year - St. Patrick’s Day! This cute and very green book follows the family as they celebrate with a parade and an authentic Irish feast. The birds, bugs, and small animals join them.

The kids will certainly learn at least one new word while reading The Luckiest St. Patrick’s Day Ever!: shillelagh, which I learned means a walking stick with a club or cudgel at the top that is associated with Irish folklore.

The Luckiest St. Patrick’s Day Ever! was cute with lots of green. It was a fun little book to get kids in the St. Patty’s Day mood.

A young child returns home after sledding and leaves a red sled outside leaning against the house. Then a curious bear happens by the house and borrows the sled to joy ride with some animal friends.

Red Sled is a cute picture book with beautiful illustrations and very few words. The words represented sounds, like “scrinch scrunch” for the sound of feet on snow. As a result, the full page color illustrations told the story.

Recommended for very young children who may not be able to read yet, but who will be stimulated by the images. Ages zero to two.